The Most Dangerous Games: Jelangkung

Previously: The Game Of The Scissors And The Book.

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The Indonesian spirit communication game Jelangkung, also known as Jailangkung, has a long, long history behind it. The goal is similar to a number of other games we’ve looked at here at TGIMM — that is, through the game, you’re meant to summon a spirit in order to chat with it through what’s ultimately a form of automatic writing — but it accomplishes it in a way that’s slightly different than what we typically see: Rather than channeling the spirit through a bow compass, or a coin, or a planchette, Jelangkung has the spirit enter a homemade doll. You’re meant to give the spirit a rough human form of the sort it’s lacked since it crossed over.

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Jelangkung’s roots lie in the Chinese practice of Cai Lan Gong — literally “vegetable basket diety” — which dates back to the fifth century CE. Cai Lan Gong involved forming what would later become known as a planchette out of a basket and channeling a spirit through the device.  I say “involved” because the practice had more or less died out by the 1950s; however, before it did so, it spread — and as it spread, it evolved. In Indonesia, it became Jelangkung or Jailangkung — both terms being “homophonic renditions” of Cai Lan Gong, as Margaret Chan, who has published a considerable amount of academic research on the tradition, notes. Other versions exist, too; on a specific Indonesian island, for example — Java — there’s a similar practice called Nini Towang. What’s more, modern incarnations combine elements of both Jelangkung and Nini Towang, showing that the game is continuing to evolve to this very day.

Traditionally, the Jelangkung doll is made with a basket, while the Nini Towang doll is made with a coconut shell ladle; interestingly, though, numerous videos made by Indonesian YouTubers depicting the game in action refer to it as “Jelangkung,” but feature dolls made out of ladles or whole coconut shells — that is, the name of the game is Jelangkung, while the doll is closer to the variety used in Nini Towang.

Indeed, these days, there are a lot of different ways to play Jelangkung: You can make a whole doll, or just dress up a basket; you can position the writing implement in the doll’s chest, attach it to its arm, or tied to the bottom; you can have the doll write itself, or you can have it point to letters à la the Compass Game, Kokkuri-san, or a good ol’ fashioned Ouija board; and so on and so forth. The version below is primarily based on what I see today’s players doing, although there are a few nods to more traditional versions included as well; furthermore, the Additional Notes section offers a few suggestions if you’d like to try a variation or two.

As always, play at your own risk.

Players:

• At least three participants.

Requirements:

• A ladle or water dipper, ideally fashioned from the shell of a coconut. (See here for an example.)
• A small stick.
• String, yarn, or twine.
• A length of cloth.
• A writing tool, ideally a pen or marker.
• A supply of paper.
• Scissors.
• A key.
• Incense.
• Candles.
• Matches or a lighter.
• A quiet, dark room.
• Questions.
• Courage.

Instructions:

Making The Doll:

1. First, make the doll itself: Lay the ladle in front of you, positioned vertically with the bowl of the ladle at the top.
2. Hold the small stick horizontally and place it on top of the ladle’s handle, an inch or two down from the bowl. The stick and the ladle should form a cross — or, more accurately, the rough shape of a person.
3. With the scissors, cut a length of twine. Use this length of twine to lash the small stick to the ladle’s handle at the point where they cross. Make sure the stick and the ladle are tied tightly together; neither should be able to slip out of the twine binding.
4. This is your doll. The bowl of the ladle is the head. The handle of the ladle is the body. The stick forms the arms.
5. Cut another length of twine. Use it to tie the pen or marker to the bottom of the ladle’s handle. If you were to uncap the pen or marker, you should be able to write with it — as if the entire doll were a writing tool.
6. Make the doll’s clothing: Fold the length of cloth in half. At the fold, use the scissors to cut a semi-circle out of the cloth. When unfolded, the cloth should now have a hole at its center, just slightly larger than the bowl of the ladle.
7. Dress the doll: Push the bowl of the ladle through the hole in the cloth, letting the rest of the material drape around the doll’s arms and body.
8. Cut another length of twine. Gather the loose cloth at the doll’s waist and tie it in place with the twine. Think of the garment as a poncho for the doll.
9. Cut one more length of twine. Thread it through the top of the key, then tie it off — as if you were making a doll-sized necklace.
10. Place the necklace with the key around the doll’s neck.
11. Your doll is complete. You are ready to begin.

Playing The Game:

1. Wait until nightfall.
2. Gather all the participants. Choose one participant to act as Summoner. The remaining participants will act as Doll Keepers.
3. Together, bring the Jelangkung doll, paper, incense, candles, and matches or lighter to your chosen playing space.
4. Place the paper on the floor.
5. Position the candles and incense around the room. Light them using the matches or lighter.
6. If the room has lamps, overhead lights, or other light sources, turn them off.
7. Gather around the paper.
8. Have the two Doll Keepers pick up the doll and, holding it by its body, balance it atop the paper. The writing tip of the pen should rest lightly on the paper’s surface.
9. Sit.
10. Wait.
11. When the moment feels right, the Summoner should chant the following mantra: “Jelangkung, Jelangsat, di sini ada pesta, pesta kecil-kecilan. Jelangkung, Jelangsat, datang tak diundang, pulang tak diantar.” (In English: “Jelangkung jelangsat, we have a party here, a small party. Jelangkung jelangsat, come uninvited, go undelivered.”)
12. Summoner: Repeat this mantra as many times as necessary.
13. Doll Keepers: Sit. Wait. Pay attention.
    • If nothing changes: The ritual has failed; a spirit has not entered the doll. Turn on the lights, extinguish the candles and incense, and depart the premises. You may try again another time.
    • If the doll grows heavy: The ritual has succeeded; a spirit has entered the doll. You may proceed.
14. Summoner: Ask the spirit to introduce itself.
15. Sit.
16. Wait.
17. Doll Keepers: If the doll begins to move across the paper, let it. Support it, but do not guide it. Let it guide you. Watch the paper; see what it writes.
18. Summoner: Ask the spirit how it died.
19. Sit.
20. Wait.
21. Doll Keepers: If the doll begins to move across the paper, let it. Support it, but do not guide it. Let it guide you. Watch the paper; see what it writes.
    • NOTE: Do NOT ask ANY OTHER QUESTIONS before asking the spirit to introduce itself or inquiring as to how it died.
22. The participants may now take turns asking the spirit whatever questions they wish to ask. These questions may be of any nature; however, participants would do well to remember that their correspondent is not necessarily omniscient.
23. Watch the doll after each question. The Doll Keepers should continue to support it, but not guide it. Let it guide you. Watch the paper; see what it writes. These are your answers.
24. Pay attention to your correspondent’s responses. If they begin to grow quiet, or erratic, or otherwise begin to behave differently, it is time to end the game.

Bidding Farewell:

1. When you have determined that it is time to end the game, have the Summoner thank the spirit for coming and state that it is time for it to go home.
2. Doll Keepers: Keep holding the doll.
3. Have the Summoner bid the spirit farewell.
4. Doll Keepers: Keep holding the doll.
5. Sit.
6. Wait.
7. Pay attention.
   1. If nothing changes: You may not yet leave the game. The spirit has not left the doll. Have the Summoner thank the spirit, state that it is time for it to go home, and bid it farewell again. Repeat this action until you observe a different outcome.
   2. If the doll becomes lighter: Doll Keepers, you may now put down the doll; participants, you may now leave the game. The spirit has left the doll. Turn on the lights, extinguish the candle and incense, gather your supplies, and depart the premises.
8. Do NOT leave the game until the spirit has left the doll — not unless you want your correspondent sticking around. (You do not want your correspondent sticking around.)
9. If, instead of becoming lighter, the doll becomes heavier — increasingly so — impossibly so…
10. …There are no guidelines for what to do next.
11. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself.

Additional Notes:

The Jelangkung doll may be made in a number of different ways. Options include:

• Instead of cutting a hole in the middle of the cloth, tie the cloth around the point where the stick and the ladle meet after lashing the two pieces together. Tie the marker or pen up with it, such that the point of the pen sticks out from the doll’s chest. (See here for an example.)
• Instead of using a ladle and a stick for the doll’s body, use a basket. Instead of a length of cloth, dress the basket in a shirt. Force the pen or marker into the side of the basket such that it protrudes outward. You may use sticks or other materials to form a head and arms for the doll, but these ornamental elements are optional. (See here for an example.)
  • NOTE: If the doll is made in either of these ways, players should hold the paper up vertically before the doll, rather than standing the doll up on the paper. In these cases, it is therefore recommended that players use a notebook for the paper, so as to provide a firm enough surface on which the doll may write.
• Give the doll not just a body, arms, and head, but also a face, as in the Javanese game Nini Towong. (See here for more information.)

Players may use a variety of different chants or mantras to summon the spirit to the doll. Options include:

Thai lam sin. Thai lam fa,

Pat nyet sip ng. Chiang nyi ha loi ` kau jit ja.

Oi loi tu loi. Ng ho jit sin. Khi ngoi ngoi.

Oi hi tu hi. Ng ho jit sin. Ta liong thi.

Cuk jap co son. Pun nyi cho. Ten sim tham khiau. Pun nyi ko.

In English:

Big basket spirit. Big flower basket,

On this eighth moon night, come down to play.

If you wish to come, then come, but do not just stand stock still.

If you wish to leave, leave but do not rebel.

Bamboo reeds make you a boat. Light the lanterns; make a bridge to cross.

Participants may use specific methods for “yes” or “no” questions. Options include:

• Prior to the summoning of the spirit, place a cup of coffee and a glass of water near the doll. After the spirit has been summoned, ask a “yes” or “no” question and watch the doll. If the doll dips the key around its neck into the coffee, the answer is “yes.” If the doll dips the key into the water, the answer is “no.” If the doll does neither, the answer is “maybe,” “I don’t know,” or “I don’t wish to answer.”
• Prior to the summoning of the spirit, write the words “yes” and “no” on the paper. After the spirit has been summoned, ask a “yes” or “no” question and watch the doll. If the doll moves to or circles the word “yes,” the answer is “yes.” If the doll moves to or circles the word “no,” the answer is “no.” If the doll does neither, the answer is “maybe,” “I don’t know,” or “I don’t wish to answer.”

For Best Results:

Play at dusk.

Play on the night of a full moon.

And play in a location with a certain… reputation.

You know the kind I mean.

Good luck.

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[Photo via screenshot/BIC Productions]